Day 17, Scottville United Methodist Church 2014 Lent & Easter Scripture & Prayer Guide Blog. John 3: 16-21. Whats in a name? Maybe you are one of the many folks who have looked up the meaning of your name. It is a pretty common thing to do. In Bible times, someones name had much greater meaning: the name was meant to represent the characteristics of that person, who that person was. In fact, in several situations in the gospel we read accounts of Jesus asking demons their name and they have no choice but to answer, or of the demons saying Jesus name/character? Ever notice that, when those demons do that, Jesus immediately rebukes them and commands them to silence? A secondary use of a name in Bible times was to attempt to gain control over a person or that persons character by naming that person. (I dont pretend to understand all of it, but I do know that it is the case!) In the case of the demons, Jesus (is) was in control and (refuses) refused to relinquish it; He refused those who tried to control Him from doing so. (That is in large part why He rebuked Peter so strongly when Peter tried to control Jesus future by saying that Jesus should not claim to be going to die (Matthew 16: 21-28).) Only Jesus fully embodies the characteristics of His name (which means, by the way, healing and salvation in Aramaic). But Jesus name also represents all of the things that make Jesus uniquely Himself, including the I am names found in the gospel of John; living water, bread of life, true vine, living water,the way, the truth, and the life, and, of course, Son of God. When people hear our names, they are immediately reminded of all of the things they have seen, heard, and experienced of us. This is eternally more true of Jesus. But here is the real special and good news about all of this: When we take on Jesus, we are given Jesus name (Christ-ian) and Jesus own characteristics rest in each one of us. A huge part of the journey to our sanctification is the work God does in us through the Holy Spirit to make us ever, more and more, forever, the image of Christ in the world. Whats in a name? In this case, everything!
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 20:34:36 +0000
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